The Miami Dolphins may have dominated their NFL game against the New England Patriots on Sunday, but for some fans seeing the thrilling victory came at the cost of their cars after a huge fire broke out in the parking lot.
While play was going on at the Hard Rock Stadium, some fans in the stands noticed a large plume of smoke billowing behind the stadium from the parking lot.
Multiple vehicles were burned in a remote parking lot outside the football stadium, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said in a news release.
It was reported that a tailgater who was grilling in the parking lot before the game forgot to turn off the grill before going to the stadium and the ensuing blaze engulfed at least eight cars.
A video shared by ESPN’s NFL Nation reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques from his vantage point in the stadium showed a huge cloud of smoke rising in the air as the match continued.
“Something is smoking over behind the NorthWest [sic] corner of Hard Rock Stadium … not sure if it’s a fire but it’s gotten thicker over the past five minutes,” he wrote on his Twitter.
The unattended fire in the packed parking lot continued to spread before 10 fire units were rushed to the spot.
Videos in the aftermath of the blaze showed several vehicles in a row badly charred with the ground covered in thick black water.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said that the reason behind the fire wasn’t immediately known.
In a statement, a Hard Rock Stadium spokesperson said no injuries have been reported but several vehicles were burned.
“Around 1pm, a vehicle fire began in a remote Hard Rock Stadium parking lot. Several vehicles were affected,” it read.
“Miami Dade Police Department and Miami Dade Fire Rescue were on the scene. The fire has been extinguished and is being investigated by Fire Rescue. No injuries have been reported and there is no current threat to the stadium.”
One owner, Scott Dellorfano, said his luxury Mercedes S63 was reduced to a bare shell and $3,000 cash in the car was destroyed, reported NBC Miami.
“They said a grill caught on fire, it set off another car that blew up and it took our 5 or 6 cars. That’s what the police told me. I got insurance, you call stadium legal people, and then go from there,” Mr Dellorfano said.
